Annotation:Black but Comely

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BLACK BUT COMELY. AKA and see AKA and see "Black Laddie My Darling," "For a' that and a' that," "Gille Dubh Mo Laochan (An)," "Lady Mackintosh (1)," "Lady Mackintosh's Reel (1)," "Mo loachan," "Strawberry Blossom (2)." Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Gow, Surenne): AABB'. The title is a biblical reference: the Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon (who some say was the Queen of Sheba) referred to herself as "black, but comely." An air version of the tune is to be found in "Gille Dubh Mo Laochan (An)," employed by Robert Burns for his song "Man's a Man for a' That (A)."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806; p. 37. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 152, p. 18. Köhlers’ Violin Repository, Book 2, 1881-1885, p. 126. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 52. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 97. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; p. 159.

Recorded sources:

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